Ironing-machine.



H. PRICE. IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1909.

. figfigfip Patented June28, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. PRICE.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYB, 1909.

Patented June 28, 1910.

2 SHEETS-BREE! 2.

w W. a l aw ,rz'ea ANDREW v3 mum cu. soroumucwwzns wAsmnmou u 4.

HARRY PRICE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IRONING-MAGI-IINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 28, 1910.

Application filed July 3, 1909. Serial No. 505,862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY PRICE, of Boston, in the county of Sufi'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ironing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ironing machines such as those employed by tailors for pressing clothes. In machines of this type, it is the usual practice to provide a jointed arm for supporting the iron in a horizontal plane, and to provide means for adjusting the supporting arm to vary its height with relation to the work support. The means heretofore employed for adjusting the supporting arm have been unsatisfactory because of'the tendency to become loose and to lose the desired adjustment.

One object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable joint for the supporting arm by which the arm may be adjusted to the desired height and to provide means for locking the adjustable joint with relation to the supporting arm so that an adjustment when once secured may not be disturbed by continued swinging of the arm. It is also customary to mount the supporting arm by means of a lever which is connected by other levers or equivalent connections with a treadle by which pressure of the iron upon the work may be secured. With such construction spring tension is usually provided for normally moving the lever connections in the opposite direction so as to raise the iron slightly above the plane of the work. Variations in the degree of spring tension are required by various classes of work and various operators, and while the tension devices now in use are capable of adjustment for varying the degree of tension, they are not provided with adjusting means. According to the present invention, the machine is provided with spring tension mechanism adapted to be adjusted to exert various degrees of tension and provided with adjusting means for eifecting the variations.

Other features of the present invention are hereinafter described and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings which show one form in which the invention may be embodied.

. On the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section of the principal parts of an ironing machine. F 2 represents a section on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a detail of an adjustable stop for the treadle.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

The machine herein illustrated comprises a table 10 mounted upon legs 11, and provided with a work rest or board 12. 13 represents an iron which may be of any preferred style and 14 represents one section of a jointed arm for supporting the iron. The other section of the jointed arm is indicated at 15 and is connected to the section 14 by a pivot 16. The iron may be attached to the section 14 in any preferred manner. The jointed arm, comprising the sections 14 and 15, is mounted so as to permit swinging of the iron in a horizontal plane, and is furthermore adapted to be adjusted so as to vary the height of the iron relatively to the work support 12.

The means for mounting the jointed arm comprises a lever 17 pivoted at 18 to a bracket 19 attached to the table 10. The base of the section 15 is mounted between ears 20 and 21 at the upper end of the lever 17. A pivot stud 22 extends through the section 15 and through both of the cars 20' and 21. It is rigidly connected to the section 15 by means such as set screws 23. The space between the cars 20 and 21 is greater than that required by the section 15, and the excess space provides for adjustment of the arm so that the height of the iron may be varied. For the purpose of securing an adjustment of the arm, the upper end of the pivot stud 22 is formed with a screw-threaded socket 24: which is occupied by the thread ed shank 25 of a stud 26. The stud extends above the bearing in the ear 20 and is provided with a collar or cap 27 affixed thereon by means such as a set screw 28. The stud 26 is preferably provided with a flange 29 and with a hardened steel collar or washer 30 arranged between the flange 29 and the collar 27. The collar 30 is afiixed on the top of the ear 20 and constitutes a bearing in which the stud 26 may turn, but which prevents longitudinal movement of the stud.

By this construction it will be apparent that rotation of the stud 26 results in raising or lowering the pivot stud 22 with the supporting arm aflixed thereon.

It is customary to provide a receptacle upon the top of the pivot stud 22 for the reception of a sponge or other article used for the operation of pressing. A receptacle of this kind is illustrated at 31 and is here shown as formed integrally with the collar 27 to which the stud 26 is affixed.

It is hereinbefore explained how adjustment of the height of the supporting arm is secured by rotation of the stud 26 relatively to the arm, and it is desirable that the adjusting stud be secured with relation to the supporting arm for the purpose of preserving the adjustment. For this reason, a looking device is provided by which the stud 26 may be locked with relation to the supportin arm. Said means is here shown as comprlsing a rod or bolt 32 adapted to enter a recess 33 formed in the upper surface of the section 15. The bolt is mounted in a boss 34 formed at the edge of the receptacle 31 and is adapted to descend into the recess 33 by reason of gravity. In changing the adjustment of the supporting arm, the bolt 32 may be manually lifted out of the recess 33 whereupon the receptacle 31 may be revolved about the axis of the stud 26 until the bolt once more registers with the recess.

The iron 13 may otherwise be elevated or lowered by swinging the lever 17 about its pivot 18. For this purpose, the lower end of the lever 17 is pivotally connected by a link 35 about one arm of a bell crank 36. The other arm 37 is pivotally connected to a treadle 38 through an adjustable link 39. The treadle is pivoted at 40 and is so arranged that downward pressure upon its free end may cause downward pressure of the iron upon the work. Spring-actuating means is provided for normally raising the iron by moving the lever mechanism in the op osite direction. Said means comprises a pair of helical springs 41 arranged one on either side of the bell crank arm 37. The upper ends of the springs are attached to fixtures 42 and the lower ends are attached to ears formed upon a slide 43. The slide is arranged in guides 44 carried by the arm 37 and it is adjustably connected to the arm by an adjusting rod 45. The upper end of the rod 45 extends through an ear 46 formed on the arm 37 and is provided with a collar 47 and a nut 48 one on either side of the ear. The rod is free to turn in its bearing in the ear 46, but is held against longitudinal movement by the collar 47 and the nut 48. The lower end of the rod is formed with a screw thread 49 which extends through a screw ear 50 formed upon the slide 43. By

turning the rod 45, the slide 43 may be raised or lowered by reason of the screw thread 49, thereby reducing or increasing the tension of the springs 41. For the purpose of turning the rod 45, the collar 47 which is formed or fixed thereon, may be provided with a knurled surface or with apertures for the reception of a tool or with both. The rod not only serves as a means for varying the adjustment but it maintains the adjustment when once made. The invention also provides an adjustable stop adapted to be engaged by the treadle 38 for the purpose of limiting the upward movement of the treadle due to the tension of the springs 41. The stop is indicated at 51 and is mounted upon a stationary pivot 52. It is similar to a cam and is adapted to stop the treadle at different points by reason of: its adjustability about its pivot 52. For the purpose of locking the stop in various positions, it is provided with a series of recesses 53 adapted to receive the heads 54 of a spring follower 55, see Fig. 3. The outer end of the follower may be provided with a knob 56 by which the head may be retracted against the tension of a spring 57. When the head is retracted, the stop may be turned about its pivot to cause any one of the recesses 53 to register with the head, and when the follower is released the head is projected into the recess then in alinement. In this way, the stop may be adjusted in a few seconds time.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. In an ironing machine, an iron, supporting means therefor, a slide connected to said means, spring tension means connected to said slide to exert tension tending to elevate the iron, and an adjusting screw con necting said slide and supporting means, for adjusting the slide to vary the spring tension.

2. In an ironing machine, an iron, a carrier therefor, manually operative means for moving the carrier, spring-actuated means for moving the manual means, a stop for the manual means formed with a series of apertures, and a spring follower arranged and constructed to enter either of said apertures and lock the stop in various positions.

3. In an ironing machine, a jointed carrier 1 for the iron, a support, an adjustable pivot aliixed to the carrier and connecting the carrier andsupport, means for adjusting the pivot with relation to the support, and means for locking the adjusting means with relation to the carrier.

4. In an ironing machine, a jointed carrier In testimony whereof I have aflixeoi my for the iron, (a; supgort an axialgly rovgble signature in presence of tWo Witnesses. pivot mounte in t e su port an a xe to the carrier, an adjusting screw cooperating HARRY PRICE 5 with the support for moving the pivot end- Witnesses:

wise, and means for locking the screw with W. P. ABELL, relation to the carrier. P. W. PEZZETTI. 

